Bo Xilai 'suspended from China's Communist Party'

Bo Xilai, the former Chinese leadership contender who has suffered a
spectacular fall from grace, has been suspended by the Communist Party,
according to reports, in a move that effectively ends his political career.

Four sources, speaking to the Reuters news agency, said the ruling party had made the decision after investigating Mr Bo, the former party chief of Chongqing municipality in southwest China, over a scandal that emerged after his chief of police, Wang Lijun, fled into a US consulate for 24 hours in February.

Mr Wang's flight triggered a series of revelations, including questions about the death of Neil Heywood, a British businessman close to Mr Bo's family. Mr Bo was dismissed as Chongqing party chief in mid-March.

Last month, the Foreign Office confirmed it had asked China to open a fresh investigation into Mr Heywood's death on November 14. The Foreign Office said other businessmen in Beijing had suggested there may have been foul play.

The party settles on a new top leadership late this year, and Mr Bo had been widely seen as campaigning for a post in it.

Mr Bo has been removed from the Central Committee, a council of some 200 senior officials who meet about once a year, and from the Politburo, a more powerful body of about two dozen Central Committee members, said the sources.

Three of China's largest internet companies meanwhile promised the government they will take steps to banish online rumours, state media said on Tuesday, as the ruling Communist Party fights jitters over their tricky leadership transition.

A dispatch by the official Xinhua news agency made no mention of rumours of a foiled coup in Beijing that spread on the internet in past weeks, after the abrupt ousting of Mr Bo.

But the article was the latest in a series carried by state media lambasting online rumours and those who spread them.

After Mr Bo was sacked, popular microblogs, including those run by Sina Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd, were awash with speculation about a coup.

Xinhua said that both companies, along with top search engine Baidu Inc, would "resolutely support and co-operate with relevant government departments in measures to fight and clear up online rumours".

They would also "earnestly fulfil their responsibility to society, follow the law, increase management of the internet and adopt effective measures" to guard against rumours.

While the coup rumours were unfounded, their spread and the tightening of internet controls and warnings to ignore such talk have reflected worries about stability after Mr Bo's fall.

Last week, China's top military newspaper told troops to ignore online rumours.

And in late March, authorities shut 16 Chinese websites and detained six people accused of spreading rumours about unusual military movements and security in the capital.

The rumours fed on speculation about the ousting of Bo over a month after his vice mayor, Wang Lijun, fled to a U.S. consulate, triggering a scandal exposing accusations of infighting and abuses of power.